Worth Fighting For
by reverie2021
Summary: An attempt to force a political marriage threatens to break apart Sai and Ino's relationship but things take an unexpected turn, revealing buried connections to Sai's forgotten past. A SaiIno fanfic adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**Worth Fighting For**

**Summary: An attempt to force a political marriage threatens to break apart Sai and Ino's relationship but things take an unexpected turn, revealing hidden motives and buried connections to Sai's forgotten past. **

**A/N: All of my stories are connected but they do not have to be read in any particular order. Thank you for your feedback!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but I do really love these characters, especially Sai and Ino. **

Chapter One: An Unexpected Assignment

His last mission hadn't been easy, but Sai had successfully completed it, alone, and returned to the mission desk at midday, exhausted. He only had a short break to see Ino before having to report back for his next assignment, and he wondered for a moment why he would be called back so quickly. Lately, he and Ino's "dating" had been reduced to a few stolen moments in between the never-ending demands of their work.

He stepped out of the shadowy trees into the fading afternoon sun. The darkness of the forest broke into a small, open stretch of grass and a scattering of wildflowers. Sai settled down on the ground and pulled out his art supplies to wait for Ino's arrival. As he leaned over his drawing his ink black hair fell in jagged waves across his pale face. The charcoal in his hand followed the path of his memory until a lifelike sketch of Ino's face appeared, eyeing him with that slight half-smile she saved only for him.

Suddenly, he felt Ino's arms encircle him, her breath warm on his neck, and he leaned into her embrace. Fifty-eight minutes before he had to report back to get back to his next mysterious assignment. She would be gone to the hospital then. They had briefly slipped away to the edges of their world but remained close enough to still know its incessant tug-relentless and clawing. Fifty-seven and a half minutes. Ino glanced at Sai's new drawing and offered a matching half smile to her charcoal sketch counterpart.

"Is this how you see me?" She was always amazed at how talented he was-a museum worthy piece casually drawn while he was waiting.

Sai traced the loose strands of her sunshine hair tumbling over her purple sleeveless shirt. "Yes," he smiled-a real smile, "...Beautiful." The inside joke of that nickname never got old. His own small smile was answered with a feathery brush of her lips against his. He tangled his fingers into her hair and leaned into her kiss. A tangle of words whispered through his mind as he subconsciously stumbled through word choices, phrases, and descriptions from his many books on relationships. He paused to look at her, his dark eyes confident. Fifty-six minutes left.

* * *

Koharu sat comfortably in the Hokage's office. The long-time Konoha council member was quietly savoring her position as temporary leader of the village while the Rokudaime was away. Her ancient face stared at Sai as he stood before her, tall and silent, his blunt tipped sword swung behind his right shoulder. Behind his back were his large shinobi scrolls, carefully rolled up with his brushes and chakra ink tucked inside, the weight held effortlessly against his back. Koharu leaned back in her seat evaluating him but the "mission briefing" was not what Sai expected. She explained, with a tone that seemed indifferent, that the Rain Village has sent a proposal for a shinobi union, a marriage. "So, it's time for this—relationship with Yamanaka Ino to end," she continued, "The union has been requested and we intend to agree." Sai struggled to process his sudden influx of unfamiliar emotions as Koharu's words fell over him like a rainstorm. The lean muscles of his back were suddenly tense. Lately his normally sharp intellect was often derailed by his fledgling emotions. He struggled, as he was now, with the balance of coaxing them out versus reigning them in.

"The union that has been offered is going to be quite valuable and we will need your cooperation to make this work." Sai continued to feel a tide of unfamiliar feelings well up in his chest, anger, jealousy, sadness, irritation? Instead, of his usual labeling exercise, he let them brush past him as he answered calmly. "That's not going to happen."

"Well, I can certainly understand why you find her appealing." Koharu said, attempting to sound consoling, "And I'm sure she enjoys your attention." She paused, "But everyone who sees you two together understands that this adolescent flirtation can't last."

He chose to ignore the condescension in her tone. He was nineteen years old and had never been allowed to have a childhood. He had killed people for the protection of the village since he was six years old. It was absurd to refer to him as adolescent. But, despite the growing tension within him, Sai's dark eyes remained impassive, his voice was firm.

"Her family will not allow her to be sent away," he paused, "Nor would she be willing..." Koharu's expression softened for the briefest moment before returning to steel. She suddenly realized that Sai had completely misunderstood her. Pushing back in her chair, she sighed, "The request wasn't for Ino," she paused again, "it was for you." Sai's face flushed with the new confusion he suddenly felt. Koharu waited again to allow him to digest his new reality. "I know it's sudden, but you will need to depart tomorrow, once the paperwork is completed."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: The Boy in the Tower

For a moment, Sai stood, uncomprehendingly, before Koharu, the torrent of her words flashing through his head as he processed what she was saying.

"Koharu-_sama_, I don't think a family of nobility would want_...[a nameless, emotionally broken, assassin]_…someone like me."

Koharu's strong, wrinkled fingers clenched at the edge of the table. She offered up her best attempt at a smile. "They were quite impressed with you after the war." And now, an appeal to his nonexistent vanity. "Few people have the ability for beast mimicry. Your skills are incredibly valuable and rare. In exchange for the union we will get access to critical medical information from the Rain Village through this strengthened alliance. I assure you it will benefit of everyone in the village. And, it will profoundly support the peace that you have fought to achieve."

He paused and began again.

"No," he said, "I can't do that. I am committed to Ino-" Koharu cut him off, suddenly exasperated, "You cannot think this—" she searched for the right word, "—_experiment_ with her can be permanent. You both have more serious obligations, especially Ino. She is the incoming clan leader so-let's be clear-she could _never_ marry someone like you." So much for flattery. "Instead, you would have an opportunity to be truly helping her. You would be protecting her by ensuring our village is safe with this enhanced alliance."

Her words raged over him like a cold wind, biting. He could feel the pull of her manipulation. The situation was bizarre enough to make him consider for a moment that he might be under a genjutsu. It had been less than a year since he was captured in the Land of Silence. The deadened mind of a former Foundation child like him was ripe for manipulation and he had not been strong enough to fight off his captor's mind-control. But Ino had come to him and saved him, even at the great risk to her own mental safety. She had found him, angry and lost, and dove deep into his subconsciousness. She found the real him and pulled him out into the light. She showed him, she _convinced_ him, that he had worth beyond being just a weapon for the village. He saw that he was, to his great surprise, precious to his new-found friends and to her. After that incident, he always suspected that she had left a bit of her own consciousness behind for him, protecting and encouraging him when he needed it. As he did now.

Koharu handed him a folder with the Rain Village's insignia and a photo of their leader's reasonably attractive, dark-haired daughter. The paperwork confirmed that his envoys were here to meet with Sai and escort him back to the Rain Village.

"You don't have to decide right away but you do have to meet with them today and travel to the Rain Village tomorrow."

Sai breathed deeply, stepping back slightly, and bit the words out. "I'm sorry, I cannot help you with this. I have a right to refuse so please consider it refused."

She seemed unexpectedly calm in response. Then, abruptly, two armed guards appeared on either side of him. Sai stiffened at their arrival, comprehension sinking in.

"You can't just force me." He recognized the slow rise of his own anger. "I realize that you still think of me as part of the Foundation but Danzo's children are not your property anymore." He could still feel the faded curse mark that had been sealed on the back of his tongue. Koharu sighed, quietly smug in her checkmate moment. "I just think you need to think this over Sai, here in the tower, for your...protection." She stretched the last word out to infuse what gravitas she could for her obvious lie. "In light of the delicacy of the negotiations, I've decided it would be safer if you stayed here."

Sai tried a different tactic.

"I would like to speak to the Hokage." Koharu adjusted the robes around her shoulders. "The Hokage is traveling with your colleague Naruto and will not be back for three weeks. I am entrusted with caring for the village in their absence. I am in charge now so your appeal is with me. I am within the code to send you on this mission, it is certainly for the good of the village and, trust me, it will be an excellent opportunity for you." She eyed the two guards and signaled her dismissal with a sharp nod of her head to them. Sai felt a grip on each arm, followed by a tug removing his tanto and scrolls. She remained calm as they pulled him away, confident in the knowledge that he wouldn't make a scene in her office. They both knew that he would not fight the guards-not for his safety, but for theirs. He didn't have a close range combat form that wouldn't leave them dead and he wasn't about to spill the blood of his comrades. Not now that he had found his way back to his humanity.

* * *

Iruka was slogging through his paperwork at the desk when Sai saw him from across the room. Sai immediately recognized Iruka's kind, tan face with his thick, dark brown hair pulled into a short ponytail. Although Iruka still worked full time as an academy teacher, he spent his off hours working at the mission desk. It wasn't unusual for him to see Sai in the mission room or the return tunnels. Sai was legendary for his efficient completion of even the most dangerous missions. Iruka would often see him walking through the mission room a day or two earlier than expected. Sai would calmly drop off the mission details and/or corpses in the receiving area and then leave, his clothes torn and covered in blood, without a word. Eventually, with his colleagues', and Iruka's, urging, he developed a small repertoire of sociable exchanges with Iruka at the mission desk.

Unlike other shinobi his age, Sai had never had Iruka as a teacher. The other young people of the village cherished Iruka, who was only about ten years older than them, in a way that confused Sai. It made him wish that he had school as a child, and a real teacher (not a murderous maniac like Danzo), and…friends. Iruka had instinctively sensed the _lacking_ that Sai felt in social gatherings with his new comrades. Sai's tentative attempts to rediscover his humanity often appeared as childlike explorations and Iruka couldn't resist his teacher's instinct to help Sai along when he could.

Sai's closest friend was his teammate Naruto, the great hero of the village. He was also an orphan but had been raised by Iruka as his de facto foster child. Naruto was the complete opposite of Sai: loud, boisterous, and so emotional that sometimes Sai just stared, wordless and confused, at his antics. Naruto, undeterred, would shout at Sai to come along on some meaningless adventure or to help him with some ridiculous undertaking. Fortunately, Iruka would intervene when he was around and take them to lunch or some other slightly calmer exploration that would give Sai a chance to explore his true self.

Looking up from the mission desk, Iruka immediately saw that something was wrong. Sai's normally flat affect was _seething_ and he was flanked by two unhappy looking guards. They looked as embarrassed as Sai looked furious. Iruka rose from his seat and intercepted them. He didn't bother to address the guards. "Where are you going?" He asked with genuine confusion. Sai skipped the usual pleasantries and said flatly, "Koharu-sama has ordered that I be held here against my will to be coerced into a political union over my stated objection. I would like to speak with the Hokage, as is my right, and to be released pending the review." Sai caught his breath, his other emotions momentarily resurfacing, "And I would like to talk to Ino, please."

Iruka took only a split second to digest what Sai said. He pressed something into Sai's hand and Sai took it without reaction. The guard on Sai's left rolled his eyes at the transaction, they were certainly not going to make an issue of it. It was clear that they were almost as unhappy about the situation as Sai was. Iruka looked in the direction they were headed, down the narrow hallway for the "guest" cells. "The tower?" A slight pause followed. He didn't smile but he gave Sai the same look he gave his students, encouraging but firm. Hopefully Sai understood him: that help was coming.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The Things Worth Fighting For

Koharu made her way to the stateroom where An, the Rain Village envoy, waited. In their earlier conversation, the envoy had swiftly convinced Koharu of the considerable benefits of their plan.

"This marriage will very much support our improved alliance for peace and as a result, you will have access to our extensive scientific databases." Tsunade and Orochimaru had both told Koharu there was nothing to be done for her degenerating condition but, as far as she was concerned, those two were hypocrites and established liars. The envoy had reassured her of access to the Rain's hidden knowledge on tissue regeneration. She was unwilling to give up when she had a chance. Now all she had to do was give the Rain this clan-less boy. But she had to do it while the Rokudaime was away—he would never stand for this. And of course, there was the unpredictable Kyuubi child which even the Rain was anxious to avoid. It had to be done now.

Despite the suddenness of the scheme, Koharu had felt confident of obtaining Sai's eventual acquiescence. She had encountered him in the past, under different names, and she knew he had been Danzo's most efficient and obedient child. Even though Danzo's death released the curse seal, there were many avenues of persuasion for his still-fragile mind.

The Rain envoy had requested Sai, specifically, as their choice. Sai was unquestionably good-looking (until he opened his mouth and ruined the effect with his bluntness) and his jutsu was certainly very special. But Koharu suspected there was some other underlying motive that remained hidden. But, it didn't matter-it wasn't like she was sending him to his death. The envoy had assured her that he would be lavishly cared for and well compensated for his cooperation.

Also, some of the Yamanaka clan elders had openly expressed their disapproval of Sai, a nameless orphan with no manners, as a match for Ino. With him gone, Ino's clan could finally find a suitable, pedigreed partner for their young, incoming leader and they would owe Koharu a debt for removing Sai as an impediment.

Koharu approached the guest room in the Hokage tower. She could hear the envoy moving to the door, no doubt smoothing her elaborate gown and readying a gracious greeting for the soon-to-be newest member of their royal family. However, Koharu entered alone, while two shinobi guards waited outside.

"Where is he?" The envoy demanded. She was a bit younger than Koharu's advanced age, with light brown hair pulled back into a low ornate bun. She had a stern face that seemed to command obedience.

Koharu sighed, "He's here-secure, but he just requires a bit more persuading." She certainly didn't mind using force but visibly dragged-to-the-altar-in-chains would not be a good look for either country.

The envoy's expression became stone. "You promised this arrangement in exchange for access to our records."

"Don't worry, I won't be arguing with him any longer. I promise I will have him transported to the Rain Village tomorrow morning." She said confidently. "He will be fine once he gets there. I know he will accept his new situation." He really would-she told herself this. After all, he was accustomed to being reinvented as needed.

* * *

Sai sat on the floor of his cell, leaning his back against the cold stone wall. He was not in the usual empty dirt floor enclosure where enemy nin and traitors would be bound and blindfolded or chained to the wall. This section was reserved for high ranking violators for whom diplomacy required slightly better treatment. The wooden floor held a nondescript black futon, thinly padded and unfolded flat, a small table with two chairs—for dining and interrogation, and a sectioned off small utilitarian lavatory. They had removed his weapons and chakra ink, of course, but even his picture book and plain pencils were gone. They weren't taking any chances. Instead, his fingers instinctively drew designs in the dust on the floor while the guards locked the cell and prepared to leave him.

His tray of food remained untouched. He wanted none of it although he knew the risk of drugs or poison was minimal to him. He had been raised to be immune to most. He remembered the stricken look on Ino's face when he blandly told her of the months of being stabbed repeatedly with poisons, writhing miserably with other children and waiting to see who would die and who would survive in each successive round of poison and pain. He was one of the unlucky ones who survived to suffer again, month after month, until both his mind and body were numb and immune at age ten.

His current teammates, who had seen so much themselves, looked at him with pity and sorrow, as well as anger at the village leaders, when they found out these bits of his past. He realized then how damaged and monstrous he must seem to them, and how unworthy he was of Ino's interest. He understood and accepted how impossible it would ever be to build meaningful friendships with his comrades. But he was proven wrong. When he needed them in the Land of Silence, they came for him, not just for the mission, but for him, the boy with no name. When he didn't need them, they came for him anyway, dragging him out to eat and explore as he found his way back to his humanity.

Once the guards departed, Sai pulled out the small piece of chakra paper Iruka had secretly given him in the hallway. He had no ink—everything had been taken from him. Against his better judgment, Sai bit the tip of his finger, satisfied with the arrival of dark red liquid. Slowly he wrote on the paper until there was no more room. He sucked the dregs of blood from his finger. He knew Iruka would try to help him but he wanted to say goodbye to Ino, just in case. Sighing, he held two fingertips to his lips and pressed his chakra into the small scroll until the words formed into a crimson moth and flew through the bars of his cell. Someone must have sensed its quiet formation because the newly installed chakra repressors suddenly powered on and Sai felt his energy seeping away.  
-

* * *

Ino tapped her bright red fingernails on the worn kitchen counter in Sai's small apartment. He was definitely late. Her mood had changed from anticipation to impatience to worry in the thirty minutes since she had finished preparing a rare home-cooked dinner. Ino divided her time between her shifts at the hospital and her work at T & I. Healing followed by torture—the irony was not lost on her although she sincerely loved both. Those pretty, painted fingers could gut an enemy assassin and rip his mind apart just as easily as they could heal a child or whip up stir fried vegetables. She frowned. Even if he had been pulled away on an emergency mission, he would have left her a message. But, tonight, there was a glaring absence of Sai's signature small fragile bird, stark white, outlined in black, looking for a place to land, and then smashing its delicate body onto a waiting scroll, dying in a mess of black ink that would reorder into words from Sai. Suddenly, Ino felt a faint tug of Sai's chakra approaching but her relief dissolved into concern when she saw the tiny red rimmed white moth. Not just red—it was crimson, as though it had been drawn in Sai's blood. The moth flew swiftly towards her and then tumbled silently into the kitchen scroll in the space of time it took for her to suck in a breath and grab her kunai.

Ino ran into the tower, cloaked in rage and fear. Sai's note had been simple: he loved her and would continue to fight against this state of affairs, but he didn't want her to do anything…rash. He thought that if he refused long enough eventually the Rokudaime would return and put an end to this but Ino didn't trust Koharu's scheming mind. She stormed past the sharp-eyed guards at the mission desk without a backwards glance. The T & I insignia on her jacket ensured security would leave her alone. Iruka stood at the entrance to the upper cells and beckoned her towards him. She could feel Sai's presence, taut and somber, in the cavernous dimness of the tower. Running over to Iruka she turned to see the long row of cells, empty and dark, except for one that was dimly lit.

The new chakra repressors were set mercilessly high, sucking Sai's energy away until he felt lightheaded. He was startled by the sound and mental jolt of Ino's approach and he stumbled upward from the floor, still weakened by the repressors. She stood golden, like sunlight, burning and furious against the darkness. He stood before her, his fingers tightening around the bars of his cell as they faced each other, sunshine and moonlight, until her hand tangled into his inky black hair and drew his face between the bars to the breathless press of her lips.

"Koharu's lost her mind if she thinks she can take you away from me." Ino's voice against his lips was filled with a rage she seldom showed anymore. Ino had been notoriously prone to angry outbursts before and during the war. Her fury at even minor offenses was legendary. However, after the loss of her father during the war, her time with Sai's quiet presence had calmed her and her time in the interrogation unit had, ironically, made her more stoic. Now the old Ino had returned— a spitting mad, golden fury—like a vengeful goddess, with Sai as her opposite, his lean muscles standing in quiet anger, a dark, smoldering coal, edged with the relief of her presence.

Iruka quietly worked the seals for the chakra repressors and Sai felt his energy returning. Ino pulled a key from her pocket and released the bars. "We're just...leaving?" Sai looked uncertain. Ino grabbed Sai's hand. "We're going to Yamato's, he's agreed to sub in for your "protection" detail. She can't argue with that—he's your team leader." Iruka watched Sai's movements to make sure he had recovered. "_Ikuza_, let's go kids. We have one more thing we need to do..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Outmaneuvering Fate

Sai rested, contemplatively, lying on the large sofa in Yamato's spacious apartment. Ino was tucked beside him as he absently stroked her waist-long golden tresses falling like a curtain across both of them. His recovered scrolls and tanto lay on the floor next to them. Although it was long past midnight, the comforting scent of green tea and ginger drifted from the kitchen along with the hushed voices of Yamato and Iruka.

He had initially been against the idea of a quick engagement when Iruka had offered it as an end-run around Koharu's scheme. He was more than ready to commit but, having read enough books on the subject, he knew that a milestone like this was supposed to be romantic and enchanting not desperate and rushed. And it required a gift. Iruka had given him an understanding look and handed him a black drawstring pouch. Inside was a delicate white silk fan edged in lace. Sai unfolded it to reveal the fan's elaborately embroidered floral pattern of camellias and lilies. It was one of the most beautiful objects he had ever seen.

"I thought you could use this for Ino's engagement gift. It was my mother's." Iruka said and quickly smiled at the suddenly stressed look on Sai's face. "It's okay, she had quite a collection and I still have several of them." He had spoken reassuringly but there remained an uncurrent of sadness in his voice that Sai instinctively understood.

Now, lying on the couch with Ino, Sai couldn't believe he was really doing this. His life had been like a winding path and tonight everything felt new—he felt worried and excited at the same time—she said he was "anxious" and that it was normal and okay.

Ino, on the other hand, had felt no hesitation about this plan. She had been attracted to Sai from the moment she first saw him and she felt irrevocably bonded to him after journeying through his mind in the Land of Silence. After that experience, they knew each other in a way that no one else would. Her only vague concern came from thinking of her two teammates who were like family to her. Because of the longstanding alliance mandates of their clans, her decision affected them too. But she knew they would have her back on this. After all, Choji found every excuse to see Karui whenever possible and Shikamaru and Temari were done denying their feelings for each other. It was time for them all to grow up.

A knock at the door startled everyone from their reverie. Sai stood up and bowed nervously as Ino's mother smiled at him and entered with her distant cousin Hajime, one of the Yamanaka clan elders. A few moments later they were all seated around a low table. Sai was seated between Iruka and Yamato. Across from them, Ino sat between her mother and her clan elder as they began the ceremony of exchanging gifts and words of commitment to each other and to the clan. Ino's mother wore her hair in a low ponytail and her eyes were newly misted with grief at the absence of her husband on this special occasion. She gave Sai several beautifully decorated round wooden boxes of tea and dried lavender. He then watched as Ino's eyes widened with delight when she opened the beautifully designed fan. To Sai, the fan seemed sacred-a remnant of Iruka's mother who had died protecting her son and the village. The idea of his own mother existed only in the shadowy corners of his mind like an insubstantial wisp of smoke drifting from an extinguished candle.

At the end of the ceremony he watched as Ino's mother embraced her daughter tearfully and departed, disappearing into the night. The momentary quiet was split by a sudden angry banging on Yamato's door. Yamato sighed and looked at Iruka. Ino held Sai's hand resolutely as they stood together. They all understood the storm that was coming. Yamato stepped forward and slid the door open to Koharu's furious glare.

"You can't oppose me on this," she began angrily, "He is going to the Rain Village tonight."

Ino looked at Koharu defiantly. "He is no longer eligible to be offered for a political marriage." She spat the words out, furiously.

Hajime, the Yamanaka clan elder, stepped forward, his angular face lined with wisdom, his long golden hair fading to streaks of white. He bowed politely to Koharu. They had known each other for a long time. "Koharu-Sama, our clan has granted its permission. Sai is now formally betrothed to Ino under our clan law." It was true that Sai had not been his first choice for Ino but he had also had enough of Koharu's nonsense. Her political wrangling reminded him too much of Danzo. And besides, Ino was relentlessly persuasive when she wanted something.

Koharu's face twisted into a rare glare of shock and confusion. She looked at him disbelievingly. "How could you accept him? He doesn't have a clan or even a real name." The elder's expression became thoughtful. "No. But he will soon have our clan and our name."

Koharu stood dumbfounded at the turn of events. She had no intention of directly crossing the Yamanakas but she wasn't ready to give up yet. "I will apologize to the Rain Village for the unexpected change in your status." She turned back to Sai and Ino, her voice laced with lethal anger. "But you must still greet the envoy as a diplomatic courtesy." No one in the room trusted her for a minute but they all knew they couldn't refuse her demand. Ino's fingers tightened around Sai's as they prepared to leave.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Tell Me the Story of Your Life

Ino was not allowed to be present at the meeting. In the room with the envoy, Sai felt immediately uncomfortable despite her warm greeting.

"Sai, you honor us with your presence. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I am An and this is Reina," An gestured to the young woman standing quietly behind her, "She is the daughter of our great leader." Sai looked at the young woman because Koharu's current glare seemed to require him to do so. She was pretty by normal standards with cascades of dark wavy hair framing the delicate features of her ivory face. She had dark piercing eyes that were edged with a look of mournfulness, like someone unable to turn away from a tragic scene. She stood with her head bowed slightly, giving an impression of shyness although she somehow managed to keep her dark eyes locked on Sai's face. "Thank you for meeting us." Reina offered. Her voice was hypnotic like soft music. "I have admired you for a long time."

"I'm not marrying you." Sai said flatly. He saw Reina blink at his blunt reply but she retained her composure. Sai was tired-it was almost dawn—and he was tired of this meeting and didn't mind showing it. Koharu's authority forced him into this room but, other than enduring their presence for the required amount of time, that was the end of his obligation.

"We have something to tell you." Reina invited him to a chair. "I hope it will make you reconsider your position and come to think of the Rain as your home." She looked over at An anxiously. Sai felt subdued annoyance as he reluctantly sat down with the three of them, his scrolls and tanto slung behind him. Now that he was legally betrothed they would need to have his voluntary consent to go with them. He anticipated some extravagant offer of wealth that he would quickly refuse so he could finally leave and get back to Ino. But the envoy An's next words took him by surprise.

"It's about your mother, she was from the Rain. You are one of us." For the first time in a long time, he was at a loss for words.

"Sai is a Konoha orphan." Iruka's voice floated from the corner where he stood distant but watchful per Ino's insistence.

"Yes, I know he was found near Konoha but we know that his mother was from the Rain. She was a civilian artist and teacher before the Third War destroyed what little we had left in the Rain. She disappeared from the village after suspicions arose that she may have been consorting with an enemy shinobi, possibly from the Leaf. Her body was found a few years later in a cabin in an area outside of Konoha." Sai looked back at Iruka in confusion and then returned his gaze to An.

"How would that make her my mother?"

"Those who found her also found evidence that a child had been there—small toys and a child's crayons."

"That doesn't mean…" Sai stopped talking suddenly, wondering why he was taking part in this absurd conversation. He knew it was a lie or a…mistake but he couldn't help feeling newly broken at even the abstract concept of having had, and lost, a mother.

Iruka stepped over to him. "I think we're done now, Lady An, Lady Reina. Please have a safe trip back." Looking over at Koharu he nodded to her as he turned to leave. He saw her hands twist together in frustration. Sai followed him out the door without another word.

Sai stepped into Ino's embrace as soon as he exited the room and saw her waiting in the hallway. "I'll leave you two alone." Iruka said somberly and walked away.

Sai looked down into Ino's sea blue eyes.

"I need you to help me remember."

Ino, shocked, felt herself pull away from him slightly.

"What? No!" Although Koharu made her wait outside, she had heard everything.

"I just want to know the truth..."

"No, Sai, of course not. That would be far too dangerous for you—you could end up with permanent brain damage." She felt her breath catching as his expression became despondent. "And, they're…they're lying. You do know that? They're manipulating you!" She hated the panicked pitch she heard in her voice. How could she compete with a ghost?

He disentangled himself from her and walked away, leaving her momentarily in stunned silence. He kept walking, lost in thought, as he exited the safety of the village gates and continued onward into the approaching dawn. He wasn't angry. He just needed some space to think. And, actually, he knew she was still with him, he could sense her following from a distance in the woods surrounding the village. Eventually he stopped and turned back to see her, shining in the early morning sunlight. The space between them seemed infinite. He knew she was disappointed in him.

"Please, Ino, I just need to know."

The breeze was tousling his dark hair across the pensive curve of his lips. Ino thought he looked like a marble statue brought to life. But she was not going to relent on this. A memory search of that magnitude could destroy Sai's mind and it was all for the false hope of finding a dead woman. Although she couldn't figure out what it was, it was clear that the Rain wanted more from Sai than recovering a lost village orphan and securing a mate for their insipid "princess". They were hiding something.

Suddenly, there was the slightest rustle of leaves and both Sai and Ino tensed, reaching for their weapons.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Endgame

The attack came from above. Four black-clad ninja dropped from the thick forest canopy to the ground and surrounded Sai while four more descended on Ino. Their ninja masks covered everything except their eyes and they had small gas masks on so some kind of toxin or sedative was likely coming. As a fine mist sprayed in Sai's face, a pair of his signature snakes, enormous black vipers, rose from the ground. In an instant, one snake spiraled around the attacker, pinning the man's arms to his side while the other snake wound around his face and snapped his neck. Sai pivoted to the other man and sunk a kunai into his side.

"The sedative isn't working!" yelled another, "Just restrain him!"

Ino threw one attacker off of her and stabbed a knife into his side. She flipped two shuriken into the other two and started to run towards Sai when she felt the sedative effects of the mist slowing her down. Sai pulled his tanto from his back and slashed at the one who had shouted.

"Listen. Just stop fighting and come with us and no one else will get hurt."

Another advanced on him. Sai flipped his tanto to drive him back. Three more assailants appeared, dropping from the upper branches of the trees. Ino hesitated a moment and then leaned herself against a wide tree trunk. As her body slumped against the tree, she projected her mind into one of the new arrivals and promptly used him to attack the other two.

Sai immediately felt the transition of Ino's mind entering the enemy ninja. His adrenaline rush from the battle drained away as he realized her own body was now unprotected. If the attackers realized her vulnerability…

As he worriedly looked for her another two ninjas dropped in front of him. One charged at him with a kunai and as Sai turned to block with his tanto the other leapt in front of him and drove a blade directly into Sai's chest. Suddenly it was painful to breathe, he glanced down in surprise at the blood leaking around the blade that had impaled him.

"No, no we can't kill him!" Someone shouted, causing the attackers to pause for a split second. Sai slammed the hilt of his sword into the attacker's head sending him tumbling to the ground unconscious, but already Sai's vision was blurring.

Ino, frantic, released her mind back to her body in its hiding place behind the tree but she realized she was now too far away from him. _This is how Asuma died_. Two new assailants appeared and pinned Sai's arms while a third desperately pulled the blade free from his chest and struggled to apply pressure to the wound. Sai's vision swam and he coughed up blood, splattering crimson from his lips and down his already bloodied shirt.

Ino fired a kunai across the woods at one of the ninjas holding Sai. The kunai struck the black clad ninja in the head and he tumbled to the ground, but it was already too late. More reinforcements arrived, lifting Sai away from the carnage as Ino sprinted towards him.

"Sai!" Ino yelled, half scream, half sob. Sai was too weak to even lift his head, he vaguely felt his arms pinned behind him and thought that can't be good for this type of injury. The pain in his chest was excruciating, it was the only thing he felt clearly. Everything else was like a hazy dream: Ino's distant cry, the warm pressure of a green chakra bandage on his chest, the pull against the ground as they sprinted him out of sight. Ino's cry was the last thing he remembered before he finally fell unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Falling through the Cracks

Karui watched Choji from across the large countertop in the otherwise unoccupied kitchen in the Akimichi compound. He was carefully preparing a new breakfast presentation for her. Really, it was endearing to watch him so focused while she munched on the remains of his half-eaten bag of weirdly flavored potato chips. She would never have guessed she would be hanging out in the Leaf village on purpose, let alone voluntarily spending time with one of their annoying shinobi.

She had always admired the strong, powerful men in her own village like the Raikage and Bee. She saw no one like that in the Leaf until she met Choji and the Akimichi clan. They stood out like giants, powerful and immovable, among the other Leaf shinobi. Unlike the Raikage who was terrifying, and Bee who was self-absorbed, and Omoi who was vulgar and rude, Choji managed to be both incredibly powerful and incredibly kind. He was the perfect counterbalance to her hot temper. She leaned her chin on her hand as she crunched another chip. It felt weird to admit that she was, in fact, smitten.

He saw her golden eyes watching him and smiled, resisting the urge to reach his sugar covered fingers into her dark red hair. Instead, he leaned across the counter to steal a quick kiss but he stopped suddenly. His eyes were abruptly vacant and distracted.

Karui froze. "You've got to be kidding me..." she said to herself. She'd seen this look once or twice before—it was Ino. Karui sat back with a frown crossing the elegant features of her dark brown face. While it was weird to share her boyfriend's mind with another woman, she knew Ino wouldn't do this if it wasn't important. A moment later, Choji refocused on Karui, his dark eyes serious, "We have to go."

It was only a few seconds later when Choji and Karui barged into the Hokage's office. Ino had just arrived covered in streaks of blood and dirt, facing Koharu and An with a murderous look in her eyes. Lady Reina was nowhere around.

"Where did they take him?" Ino demanded, her voice was shaking with rage.

"We tried to reason with you both-" Koharu began. Ino stormed past Koharu to An.

An stood up defensively. "I have diplomatic privileges here in the Leaf. A Leaf shinobi cannot touch me while I'm a guest here."

As if in answer to the challenge, Karui stepped over and caught An around the neck, pinning her to the wall with the iron grip of her long fingers.

"Well it's a good thing I'm not a Leaf shinobi." She snarled. With another turn of her wrist she slammed An down to the floor. An struggled to breathe, her hands flailing, her eyes wild and terrified as Karui's slim dark fingers tightened around An's pallid white neck. Karui looked up at Ino expectantly.

"Is this position good?" she asked.

"Perfect." Ino replied venomously, never moving her eyes from An's terrified, choking face. Koharu screamed for them to stop and Choji stood calmly with his arms folded as Ino proceeded to rip Lady An's mind apart.

* * *

Sai woke up groggily, dimly aware of the dull ache in his chest. His breaths came slowly, ragged and painful. He felt the softness of a bed beneath him and pillows behind his head. He had no intention of trying to force his eyes open yet, but in the low, lurching tumult that defined the current state of his mind he heard a girl's voice calling his name; it was soft and familiar. "...Sai?" Slowly, reluctantly, he blinked up at the flushed face looking worriedly down at him.

"Thank goodness you're awake. I was so worried." Her dark eyes had an edge of sadness and her delicate face was framed by cascades of dark, loose curls falling just past her shoulders.

Sai glanced down at his heavily bandaged chest and winced in confusion and pain, sweat forming on his forehead. "Sai it's okay, you were attacked but my father's guards rescued you. You're safe now, in our infirmary. I'm so glad you're okay." Her voice was caressing like music. She reached her fingers to him and brushed the jagged fall of his black hair out of his eyes. The gesture was gentle but Sai found himself instinctively trying to pull away from her. Trying to. The sudden pressure against his right wrist jarred him to a new alertness. He realized his right hand was anchored to the bed by an iron shackle. The chain was long enough to only allow a limited range of motion. His left hand was similarly chained.

"Please don't move, Sai. Your wound isn't healed yet." Sai's eyes widened with distrust. "We had to keep you from thrashing around and injuring yourself further."

"Who...are you?" The pressure in his chest stifled his voice to a hoarse whisper.

"I'm Reina, your fiancée." That's why she sounded familiar.

"You are _not_ my fiancée." Sai said hoarsely but the effort to speak exhausted him. He closed his eyes and turned his head away from her. She stroked the strands of his dark hair slowly, softly. He was powerless to stop her. His energy was spent and he needed to collect his thoughts to figure out how to escape.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Dialogue

_Sai dreamt of Ino. He sees her hazy and beautiful, stretched out in the grass, watching him with her half smile, as he sketches her. He doesn't care that it's a dream, he just wants to stay here, in this moment._

_Suddenly, a single black clad ninja appears, stabbing her through the chest. He hears her screaming his name in pain, but now blood appears on his chest and she is pulled away, disappearing, reaching for him, still screaming for him. He wakes up gasping for air, calling for her._

—

Later…

Reina sits on a chair next to his bed in the infirmary. He is wearing his bloodstained uniform pants but his torso is bare and bandaged. He is still shackled and being fed by an IV but his mind has cleared up enough to register her incessant chatter reverberating in his aching head.

"I'm the one who asked my father and An about a possible match with you. I have watched you and loved you for a long time."

"I don't think you can love someone you don't know."

"I feel like I know you. I saw you fight during the war. You were the most beautiful boy I had ever seen."

"You must have had me confused with Uchiha Sasuke, it happens often."

"Certainly not-he's a monster."

"I am also." She has no response to that so he continues. "Your voice is genjutsued isn't it?"

"Yes."

"It's a low-level hypnosis."

"Yes, but it doesn't seem to work on you."

"No, I'm immune so it's just annoying. You should turn it off."

"Okay." Her voice loses its irritating musical quality. It sounds normal, as though she is talking to a new friend at a tea house. She continues.

"Our village has been trying to rebuild its reputation after so many years of isolation. When I approached them about you, our leaders agreed that you would be the perfect choice for me. We would have the prestige of someone from the great Uzumaki's inner circle as well as your rare jutsu added to our future bloodline.

We prepared a generous proposal for the Rokudaime but then, unfortunately, my father found out about your tiger sealing blood—one our soldiers remembered you from the battle with the helmet splitter and told my father about it."

For the first time today she has his attention. He had forgotten that there had been hundreds of foreign soldiers on the field where he had sealed Jinin. His entire body had been transformed with ink black tears and inky black sweat.

"That blood type contains the essential ingredient for the Rain's life renewal serum. That serum is everything to my father—he would gladly kill even me for it. He bribed Koharu to send you to us while your leaders were away at the Kage summit. With you in our family we could access your blood indefinitely."

"You hid the truth. Life renewal is forbidden in every village."

"He told me to use my voice technique to convince you to come with us although we truly didn't expect resistance from someone like you."

"Someone like me...? You don't think what I want matters?"

She has offended him. She feels much less eloquent without her genjutsu.

"No, no, we thought someone like you _(she said it again)_ would be grateful for a break from fighting and danger, for a chance to live in comfort."

"When my brother died, I promised him I would live for both of us. Even though I'm clan-less, my life still matters—my choices and my dreams are worth fighting for."

"I didn't mean to offend you."

"Well, you did. I suppose that story about my mother was a lie."

"No, it's true. Your mother may have also had the special blood type but she was a civilian and she disappeared. An said she was sneaking off to meet with an enemy shinobi from the Leaf—probably an Uchiha based on your looks, An said. A pregnancy would have affected her blood but her child would inherit it."

She pauses her rambling.

"I suppose An is dead now, she never came back. I imagine your girlfriend killed her." Her voice is somber.

"Yes, probably."

"If you don't formally agree to break your engagement and stay with us, his medical team will drain all the blood they can from you at once and leave your body in the forest with a story of a rogue nin attack."

"No one will believe that."

"The Leaf won't rush into another conflict without certainty. They have endured suspicious offenses in the past to avoid war."

He struggles to sit up still tangled in his chains and the two long IV tubes connected to his right arm.

"I won't go gently to my death."

She looks at him skeptically. "You're injured and shackled."

"I'm an assassin. It's my job to cheat death."

"I read in your file that you killed your brother."

"Yes." He didn't owe her the whole truth.

"You were just a child. That must have been awful."

"Worse than you can imagine."

"You killed a lot of shinobi yesterday."

"Eleven."

"Does it bother you?"

"Of course—I counted them didn't I? I remember every kill."

"They were from the Rain."

"Obviously."

"I'm sorry—for all of this."

She reaches her hand to his shoulder.

"Don't touch me."

"Okay." She pulls her hand away.

"You should leave."

"Why...?"

"It's still hard for me to fight without killing. I'm on a sparring team with the new Sannin so I have to battle with lethal force just to keep up with them. It's like fighting with three demigods."

He is mostly talking to himself as though working something out in his mind.

"What are you saying...?" Her voice is uncertain. "You can't hurt me in your condition."

His dark eyes remain impassive as four large black vipers slide from under his bed, slipping silently towards the two guards in his room.

"One. Two." He counts quietly as he hears the snapping sound of two more deaths on his conscience. A tiny pair of snakes slithers through the locks of his shackles until they fall open sliding off his wrists.

Reina stares disbelievingly as he stands and gathers his pack from the floor. A snake has already swiftly and silently wound its way around her body. She can see its dark head poised above her own, lethal and waiting to strike. Another has changed its form to a silent, feral tiger. Its teeth are locked into the shoulder of a medic, dragging him bleeding but semi-conscious, to a far corner of the room.

She feels her heart pounding, deafening, as she struggles to control her panic. She looks at him thinking, even now, that he is beautiful, ethereal.

"You could still have a good life here. You would be safe with me."

"I'm actually engaged to someone else."

He yanks the IV tubes out of his arm, pulls his jacket from his pack and quickly slides it on over his bare, bandaged torso. She knows he is thinking only of that girl from the Leaf.

"She's probably justsued you, too. She's a manipulator."

"She's definitely jutsued me, but I'm okay with it."

A new thread of bitterness laces through her words, "I'll sound the alarm for them to pursue you."

He looks at her with no trace of anger or arrogance, but then a slight smile passes over his lips. "At least, I did better with my kill count this time." He turns from her and races from the room.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: A Meeting in the Woods

Sai checked to make sure the hallway outside his room was clear and then quickly made his way across to the back stairwell of the building. The pain in his chest had worsened considerably while he was moving around and he knew he was in danger of chakra exhaustion. He stopped for a moment and decided to dissolve his remaining ink creatures.

As they returned to his consciousness, he could taste the salty tang of the medic's blood from the tiger's mouth and feel the release of pressure from the last viper around Reina. With his animals gone, he was now truly alone. But he knew Ino was coming for him. He just had to avoid capture long enough for her to find him.

At the bottom of the stairwell he slipped carefully from the building and headed into the woods. The thick forest canopy blocked much of the daylight, keeping him in the shadows. But they were already waiting for him. He blamed his complete chakra exhaustion for the Rain ninjas' ability to swiftly surround him. The Rain leader himself appeared in the group. Sai recognized his almost future father-in-law from the photos in Koharu's files.

Unlike the others, he didn't bother to wear a mask—he apparently knew Sai would not survive to identify him to the Leaf. Considering he was Reina's father, he currently looked unnaturally youthful, with wavy black hair framing his young face. Sai didn't want to think of what had been done to achieve that. He looked at Sai with an expression of confusion and disappointment.

"You could have had everything." His voice was biting like an angry parent speaking to a misbehaving child. "You could have had comfort and wealth, but you chose death. I would not have expected that from someone like you, someone who has nothing."

Sai kept his expression calm and made no response. There was no point in trying to reason with him about the dangers of provoking a conflict with the Leaf or to try offer feigned compliance at this point. Reina had likely informed her father of Sai's obstinate resistance. Instead he was silently calculating how long it would take Ino to reach this part of the forest between the two villages and how long it would take for his chakra reserves to return.

The ninjas dragged him against a tree and hurriedly pulled off his jacket. One, dressed like a medic, tied an elastic cord around his bare upper arm. He felt the sharp sting of the needle and the rough pressure of its metallic shaft stabbing deeply into his flesh. His blood drained immediately through a short tube from the needle and quickly filled an attached clear bag.

Sai struggled but the masked ninjas held him securely. The medics pulled the full bag off the tube, sealed it, and dropped it into a lined metal box. They quickly attached a new empty bag to the tubing and untied the elastic cord around his upper arm allowing his blood to flow even more freely.

He watched as the bag filled with his blood again. He leaned his head back against the rough bark of the tree. For the first time, it occurred to him that Ino might not reach him in time, that she would instead find him bled to death, alone, against this very tree. He knew she would be broken by it, especially after having Asuma die in her arms and listening to her father as he was blown to pieces. Those losses were still fresh and raw to her. He despaired not just of dying but of how he, personally, would hurt her irrevocably by dying in this way.

His emotions were suddenly overwhelming him, like a tide drowning him. This is how his brother must have felt, knowing he was dying, and waiting for death to finish its bloody work on him. Sai felt his eyes begin to change. The whites of his eyes turned black and the centers turned from black to red.

His entire life, he had been raised with no name, no past, and no future-only his missions. But he had overcome that dark, empty destiny. He had friends who cared about him, his teammates who loved him, and Ino who was everything to him. It felt utterly unfair to lose it all like this. But, it had been worth fighting for.

Black ink streamed from his eyes down his deathly pale face. The ninja holding him were surprised and confused by the transformation and looked back at their leader. He was watching from a distance and seemed pleased at the physical change, as did the medics. They pressed harder against his veins, coaxing more blood, faster.

His blood was now almost black in color but time was not their friend. Sai was passing out after the loss of a third bag of blood. His blood pressure was dropping, and the flow from his veins was slowing down. The medic shouted and slapped him hard in the face to wake him up. The pain jarred him awake and he looked up to see Ino standing in the trees behind the Rain leader.

Ino's eyes were locked on Sai's. He imagined how wrecked he must look to her, his veins draining, his bandaged chest leaking blood, dark bruises on his wrists, and another bruise newly forming on his ink-streaked face. A hundred emotions passed across Ino's face, but Sai felt only one, relief.

The Rain medic made a show of threatening Sai when Ino appeared. He held a knife to Sai's throat, but Sai was now unfazed. Honestly, after being bled to death and stabbed through the heart, having his throat cut seemed ordinary. He could see Ino flanked by his teammate Sakura and a familiar shinobi in the shadows. He knew this would be over soon and that it would not end well for the Rain contingent. In a flash, the unseen shinobi sent a kunai flying into the medic's chest and he fell to the ground taking the knife from Sai's throat with him. Sakura was already rushing to Sai's side as he slid down to the ground.

Ino resisted the urge to run to him and hold him instead of trusting him to her best friend. Right now, she had unfinished business with the Rain leader. She sat down quietly against a tree and closed her eyes. The shadowed shinobi moved closer to her protectively.

The Rain leader began to speak haltingly, hauntingly. "I've disgraced my village." He pulled his sword from his belt. "I don't deserve to live." The words sounded like they were being dragged from him. His eyes were wide with fright as he raised the sword and stabbed himself in the abdomen. "Blood for blood." he whispered as he fell forward staining the forest grounds red.

Shocked, the remaining ninjas fled into forest but Choji and Karui were waiting for them. Choji's booming voice could immediately be heard nearby, along with the sound of bone and flesh colliding Choji's fists and Karui's katana.

Ino opened her sea blue eyes. She saw Reina watching in quiet shock. Ino stood and glanced at her for a moment.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Ino said coldly.

"I wouldn't have really let them kill him." Her eyes were rimmed with regret as she looked at her bleeding father and her battered intended fiancé. Ino had no time for her foolishness. She passed Reina and walked to Sai.

"You should leave." Ino said without looking back as she strode away. "These woods are dangerous."

When she saw Sai, Ino felt as if she had been holding her breath for hours and now, finally, she could try to exhale. She knelt before him and brushed her fingers across his face, covering them with the black ink from his pale cheek. He leaned into her touch and in that moment his eyes returned to normal.

"I'm starting to enjoy you rescuing me, Beautiful," he whispered.

"Idiot," she whispered back, unable to fully stop the sob in her voice as she kissed him.

She was too exhausted to cry. Instead she breathed in the earthy, pine-scented forest air and tried to ignore the oppressive, underlying smell of blood covering him. She rested his head against her shoulder while Sakura rebandaged his chest and fussed over his depleted chakra.

Ino reached for his bruised wrists and wrapped a cloud of green chakra over each until the bruises disappeared. Satisfied that he was stable, Sakura looked over her shoulder and nodded to the unseen figure.

The shinobi in the shadows stepped forward and lifted Sai's arm over his shoulder, taking him from Ino and gently standing him up. He looked at Sai's exhausted face.

"Let's go, Replacement."

"Thank you…" Sai was too tired to offer his usual fake smile but he meant it, "…Traitor."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Epilogue: The End and the Beginning

Sai didn't really hate the hospital the way many of his fellow shinobi did. Of course, he didn't exactly enjoy it either. As was the case with many things he experienced, he was…indifferent. He had been hospitalized occasionally and each time it was like waiting for a weapon to be repaired or sharpened. He accepted the necessity of fixing the damage so he could get back to his next mission.

In this way, he was the model patient, calm and compliant. Well, except for that time Naruto dragged him into sneaking out for barbecue when they were both still recovering from serious injuries. Sakura had been furious and he vowed never to provoke her wrath again when he cycled through subsequent stays at the hospital.

That was good, since Sakura was now insisting on putting him through every test imaginable. Sai was like a brother to her and she genuinely feared what might have been done to him while he had been unconscious in that infirmary, especially since there were an excessive number of needle marks in both of his arms. She and Ino spoke in hushed voices in the doorway of his room as they reviewed his test results—it would be weeks before they knew for sure what had happened to him.

"But, you're doing pretty well for someone who lost two collection bags of blood." Sakura said with a smile.

"It was three." Sai corrected.

She frowned. "I'll recheck the report."

When he wasn't being subjected to countless tests, he spent his time reading books on weddings. Iruka brought a few at Sai's request. He came to the hospital at the end of an academy day, with a two small children in tow. Sai watched through the open door as Iruka parked the children on a pair of hallway chairs and gave each a book to read while they waited for him. He observed the interaction with fascination and pulled out his sketchpad to draw Iruka, crouched down in front of the tousled haired boy, patiently pointing to a part of the book while the child nodded seriously.

"Their mother is away on a mission." He explained as he entered the room. Sai casually handed him the rolled up, hastily created sketch in exchange for the books he had brought. Iruka unrolled it curiously. Soft shades of gray captured the fall of the child's hair as he looked up intently at Iruka, whose hand was outstretched to the book with a look of encouragement, not quite a smile but, reassurance, etched into the slight, upturned curve of his lips.

"It's amazing."

"It's just how I see you," Sai said simply, "Thank you, for everything."

Sleep came with the help of painkillers while his chest wound healed. Ino, of course, never really left him. She slept in a chair in his room and worked rounds on his floor but always returned to him quickly, like the sun returning from behind a passing cloud. It was as though she feared he would be suddenly taken from her, again.

"You were kidnapped twice." she insisted.

"I believe I was actually illegally arrested the first time," he murmured.

"I'm glad you think this is funny." She pulled the thermometer from his lips and offered him a chaste kiss. His lips parted seductively and she felt herself leaning into him, her mouth hungrily returning the intensity of his decidedly wicked invitation. He reached his hand up into her golden hair and pulled her down to him. His pulse raced as she slid slowly down onto softness of his bed, followed by the loud beeping of the heart rate alarm, and the disgruntled sigh of the floor nurse as she slammed the door open and closed it again, embarrassed, for the second time that day.

After a few days, Sakura decided to release Sai into Ino's care at the Yamanaka compound. It was odd to think of the spacious house as his future home. Soon he would also have the Yamanaka name. He would have a wife and eventually a child. Ino made the child part very clear at their engagement—the exact amount of years until that happened would be negotiated with her teammates but it was definitely happening. He would be a _father_. His journey was startlingly real and close.

He wished he had even the slightest idea of how to be a parent. Of course, he would devour every book on the subject but he decided he might try to model himself on Iruka who was, ironically, not a father. He wished he could have learned more about his own mother. Now that the relationship with the Rain Village had been, well…torched, that link was now gone forever, leaving him feeling…he wasn't sure what to call it. Maybe it was just a quiet emptiness.

Sai's welcome home was an impromptu gathering of team ten and team seven.

"Where's Naruto?" Choji asked as he leaned back on the sofa with Karui lounging beside him.

Shikamaru sat near them on the floor with Temari. "He's meeting with Tsuanade and Kakashi to discuss a response to the Rain Village. If their leader hadn't taken responsibility, we would have been forced into an escalated response. He may have saved his people by his actions," he looked at Ino, "although I've heard rumors that he could still be alive."

Ino said nothing. She thought of the look on Reina's face when they parted.

Ino and Sai were nestled together at one end of a larger sofa with Sakura and Sasuke together on the opposite end. The low serving table was covered in cups of tea and sake.

"They're also going to decide what should happen to Koharu," Shikamaru continued, "She'll likely be removed from the council."

"She deserves it." Ino said bitterly. "It's weird to say she's gone too far considering the awful things she's been a part of over the years," she caught the look Sasuke's face, "but we don't have to put up with this kind of nonsense anymore."

Sakura broke the ensuing silence as she sipped her sake, "So Sai, I heard your parents might have been star-crossed lovers? That's so romantic. Apparently he may be part Uchiha, Sasuke." She poked her perpetually stoic boyfriend. "You could be cousins."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "He's not my cousin...there's no way he's Uchiha." But there was an undercurrent of uncertainty in his tone as he continued. "He doesn't have the sharingan...If anything, he looks more like-" He stopped abruptly seeing the concerned look on Sakura's face.

Sai was unsure who he was referring to and felt a little weird being the center of this discussion. He had always existed comfortably in the shadows and had never thought much about his true origins. His memories began with his foster brother and with Danzo as their violently abusive father. His life had simply been enslavement to the Foundation until Danzo placed him on team seven for replacement and assassination. After his teammates convinced him to relent, it was ironic that his target would later kill Danzo, freeing Sai from the curse seal.

The idea that he previously had a mother and father was an unforeseen new wound that had been broken open by his encounter with the Rain. It was a new longing in a part of his psyche that he had never thought of before. His fingers tightened around Ino's as his mind returned to the quiet conversation around him.

"So, if Sai's from the Rain, then all of the new Ino-Shika-Cho spouses will be foreign. Interesting." Temari remarked casually as she swallowed her drink.

Karui suddenly choked on her sake. "What do you mean _spouses_?"

Ino looked at Choji in disbelief. "You didn't talk to her?"

Karui's eyes widened with creeping understanding but she remained speechless. Choji took her hand nervously, pulling her up from their seat, his face was completely flushed as he whispered to her. "Can we go talk in the hallway?"

Temari squeezed her eyes shut and leaned her head back against Shikamaru. "Oops…"

"Wow, anyway," Ino turned to Sai, suddenly serious, "that reminds me…I have a wedding present for you Sai."

* * *

It was morning and Sai and Ino were in the meeting room in the Yamanaka compound. Ino's great uncle Hajime was there along with several other family members.

"The clan is going to help us, they'll keep us both safe while we do this. Their chakra will keep us anchored." They were seated, on the floor, sunlight and moonlight, facing each other. Ino's family surrounded them in a circle. The power of the clan's chakra was both comforting and overwhelming.

"Okay." Sai realized he was hardly breathing. He was suddenly terrified but so desperately ready.

Ino took his face in her hands and kissed him slowly. She looked into his dark eyes.

"Relax, breathe."

He felt himself exhaling, hesitantly. She was guiding him. He felt like he was floating.

"Close your eyes," she whispered. He leaned into the feel of her hands on his face. Reality was falling away from him. He exhaled again, more smoothly this time, and slowly closed his eyes. Instead of darkness there was light, dim but present.

He looked around slowly, blinking, and saw a room. He was in a cabin. Looking down, he saw toys and crayons on the floor and, in his confusingly small hand, was a toy lion. He put the little stuffed lion down, picked up one of the crayons and started to draw a picture of it. The crayon followed the outline of the animal as he focused on it. He heard a soft voice from nearby. "Are you ready to go? Let's pack your things." He looked up from his place on the floor and saw _her._ Her hair was long and dark, she smiled at him. He felt his head nodding as he reached up for her hand, it was gentle and warm wrapped around his. He held the drawing up for her to see as he stood. "I love it! You're quite an artist." He felt the press of her lips on the top of his head. "We'll bring this to show him, okay?" He nodded again, pleased. Rain fell against the roof, beating angrily against the windows like a warning. But he didn't feel afraid. He gathered his things. It was time to go.

"Sai, Sai," the voice, quiet and comforting but insistent rose around him, like a breeze, like a hand tugging him backwards. "Come back to me." He was confused—that wasn't his name. "Sai, come back." He opened his eyes blankly to hers, disoriented and out of breath. Where was his cabin? She was breathing hard but her voice remained calm. He could feel the press of her hands on his face. "Sai, come back," she persisted, she was pulling him with her words. "Are you alright?" She had tears in her sea blue eyes now. There was a shift, a tug of his mind slowly realigning with reality. He could feel the force of the collective chakra swirling around them but all he could focus on now was Ino.

His voice was breathless, a whisper. "I…saw her. I _remembered_." She wrapped her arms around him. It was the end and the beginning.

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm so grateful for the feedback. **


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